Radar | May 21,2022
Jul 9 , 2022
By Eden Sahle
Recently, I came across a story of grieving teenagers who lost their father to suicide. Worse still, their father shot himself in front of his teenage and underage children. They are understandably inconsolable. They have witnessed a horrific scene that will change them for life. Those who knew him could not be more surprised. They had assumed that he was a glass-half-full kind of guy no matter what life threw at him. But when his business failed, it was unbearable.
When most heard this agonising story, their reaction was one of indifference. “Yeah, it’s crazy what he did,” they say. Then the conversation of mass killings in Wellega comes up, to which they respond, “such things still happen? Crazy!” They quickly jump into another topic that makes them laugh. The tragedies were quickly forgotten and replaced by jokes.
Since the start of the pandemic, where thousands have died and others were killed in a war, many are returning to normal activities considering the death of others as merely detail. It seems the nation is no longer fazed by the single and mass death count. Gone are the days when the passing of individuals felt devastating, whether we knew the people or not. People are fine as long as they and their families are safe and far from danger.
The death of innocent victims should be a source of grief. The fact that violence continues to occur at this rate should be alarming. People massacred because of their identity and the place of their birth should sicken us all. We should be talking about their life and death at length than the politics. We should connect their struggle and fear to ours. We cannot be numbed like we are now.
I have noticed how people in Addis Abeba feel different than in the regional states. The latter no longer feel safe going outside. Violence is a constant to them and danger runs in their mind at all times. Those of us in the capital can go about our daily routines while hearing the death of many as news and shutting it off entirely.
The country is incapacitated by the awful, tragic news and by the reality of ongoing violence and tribalism that does not seem to have an end. People in the states wish to frequent public places as we do without their hearts racing with fear of being killed and losing their families. They want to go to places without scanning the surrounding, making sure harm is not imminent. They would like to function “normally.”
The frequency at which we are experiencing violence and mass death is eating away at our sensitivity. When we are exposed to death regularly, we can become desensitised to it, affecting how we empathise, mourn, and grieve.
Desensitisation is a therapy medical professionals use to treat phobias and other mental health disorders so that patients do not panic when they experience similar situations. While it can be beneficial in some cases, it can also be detrimental in most others. When we become desensitised to violence and death, we could become less sensitive to others’ suffering, lose the ability to empathise and even start behaving aggressively.
It is natural to grieve and mourn when death occurs. After experiencing such a massive loss as a nation, where is our shock as leaders and citizens? Where is our anger at the death of innocent people? Where is our guilt of not being able to help? Where is our helplessness, yearning, and sadness for the people who are paying with their precious life?
Soldiers, medical professionals, drug users, and those living in areas with high crime rates are more susceptible to death desensitisation. If the experience of seeing people dying, in real life and the media, continues to be normalised, we may no longer experience an emotional reaction to it. We may continue with our day as if nothing ever happened, as we are doing now.
Avoiding the emotions associated with death may seem to offer a temporary solution to deal with the constant exposure. But it harms our mental health and our relationship with others in the long term if it is not appropriately addressed. The public should be alarmed about its desensitised feelings and work on re-connecting to tragedies and the loss of others. Though this brings negative emotions along with grief, this can help people with death desensitisation return to a healthy relationship with loss.
PUBLISHED ON
Jul 09,2022 [ VOL
23 , NO
1158]
Radar | May 21,2022
Commentaries | Feb 13,2021
Commentaries | Dec 04,2020
Agenda | Mar 28,2020
Editorial | Apr 11,2020
Radar | Dec 16,2023
Editorial | Sep 11,2020
Viewpoints | Aug 01,2020
Radar | Apr 17,2020
Life Matters | Aug 05,2023
Photo Gallery | 96132 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 88394 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 66994 Views | Aug 14,2021
Commentaries | 65716 Views | Oct 02,2021
My Opinion | Apr 13,2024
Feb 24 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Abel Yeshitila, a real estate developer with a 12-year track record, finds himself unable to sell homes in his latest venture. Despite slash...
Feb 10 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In his last week's address to Parliament, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) painted a picture of an economy...
Jan 7 , 2024
In the realm of international finance and diplomacy, few cities hold the distinction that Addis Abeba doe...
Sep 30 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
On a chilly morning outside Ke'Geberew Market, Yeshi Chane, a 35-year-old mother cradling her seven-month-old baby, stands amidst the throng...
Apr 13 , 2024
In the hushed corridors of the legislative house on Lorenzo Te'azaz Road (Arat Kilo)...
Apr 6 , 2024
In a rather unsettling turn of events, the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (C...
Mar 30 , 2024
Ethiopian authorities find themselves at a crossroads in the shadow of a global econo...
Mar 23 , 2024
Addis Abeba has been experiencing rapid expansion over the past two decades. While se...
Apr 13 , 2024
A severe financial stranglehold has been imposed on the banking industry, underminin...
Apr 13 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In an unprecedented move, the central bank has published its inaugural stress test report, uncovering potential fault lines within the finan...
Apr 13 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In a bold departure from its historical position on foreign investment, the federal government has opened...
Apr 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
A proposed excise tax stamp system draws controversy amongst industry leaders in the alcohol, tobacco, be...